5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Psalm 121-130
1 Corinthians 14

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Psalm 122:1 (CSB): “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the house of the LORD.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

Christians say it all the time. I’ve said it, too. We talk about the church building as if it were “God’s house.”

“Lord, we’ve come into your house today …”

“It’s been good to have been in the house of the Lord.”

“We need to wear our Sunday best to God’s house.”

The possibilities for how Christians refer to the church building as God’s house are endless. The only problem is that it is Old Testament theology. The New Testament allows for no such language.

And it plays out in some very undesirable ways. People treat the church building as if it is completely separate from all that goes on the rest of the week. Some folks think they need to dress differently. Some folks certainly think they need to behave differently in the building. But when the service ends and they leave, they enter into a world where they often dress and behave much differently than when they were in church.

Here’s one example: many Christians watch movies or scroll through online sites that they wouldn’t dare view inside the church building. Here’s another: many Christians use language outside the church building that they wouldn’t dare use inside the building. Etc., etc., etc.

We (especially Americans) love to compartmentalize our lives, and Christians often do this with what happens in the church building as opposed to what happens outside.

In the Old Testament, the “house of the Lord” was the tabernacle and then the Temple in Jerusalem. Those specific structures are where God chose to dwell tangibly among His people. If Old Testament worshippers wanted to experience God’s presence, they had to travel to those structures.

In the New Testament, after Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, this understanding of God’s house was turned on its head. New Testament Jesus-followers no longer needed to travel to a building where God chose to dwell in His manifest presence. Instead, New Testament Jesus-followers BECOME THE BUILDING. Since God’s Holy Spirit takes up residence in the body of each believer, our body becomes “the house of God.”

Consider these verses that tell us that God’s Holy Spirit takes up residence in each believer’s body (just like the Lord took up residence in the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple):

Romans 8:9 (CSB): “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.” (emphasis mine)

Romans 8:11 (CSB): “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.” (emphasis mine)

2 Timothy 1:14 (CSB): “Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (emphasis mine)

Now, look at the following passage that tells us that since God’s Spirit lives in our bodies, then our body is just as much a Temple (“house of God”) as the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (CSB): “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” (emphasis mine)

So, how does this truth play out in the Christian life?

First, it helps us to realize that we are never alone. God is not merely with us; He is in us.

Second, it helps us to see every moment of every day as an opportunity to enjoy and worship our God, not merely on Sunday mornings (or whenever we worship in a church building).

Finally (there are MANY other implications), it helps us to see our times in a church building differently. While we are commanded to be a regular part of church life for our edification (Hebrews 10:25), we realize that we don’t go into those buildings to experience God. We are taking God’s temple (our body) into that building with other believers who are doing the same. Our worship is a continuation of what has been taking place all week; it simply joins with others as we worship our Lord together.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you understand what it means that your body is a Temple of God, and to live with that reality.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into the biblical understanding of how we are to think of our bodies as God’s Temple, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What does it mean that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)